'Green' developer makes plans for 2 Scottsdale complexes

Modus Zero would be 1st built in downtown in decade

by Edward Gately - Aug. 1, 2011 08:36 AMThe Arizona Republic

A Phoenix-based developer of environmentally friendly projects is moving ahead with plans to develop a three-story complex with 42 units - this time apartments instead of condominiums - on a 1.8-acre strip of land in south Scottsdale.

Vivendi Apartments will be built on land behind Holy Cross Lutheran Church, north of Thomas Road and west of Hayden Road, by Modus Development LLC.

The company also will begin construction this fall on Modus Zero, a seven-unit "green" apartment complex north of Camelback Road and across the Arizona Canal from the Safari Drive condominium complex. That will be downtown's first new apartment complex in more than a decade.

The Scottsdale City Council approved the rezoning and site plan for a condominium complex for the Vivendi site in 2007, but economic conditions made it unfeasible to develop it at that time, said Ed Gorman, president of Modus Development.

"This is not the same proposal that the city considered in 2007," he said. "While the site plan remains essentially the same, the project has been redesigned from the ground up to reflect today's tastes, style, technology and advancements in sustainability."

Modus Development plans to invest about $8 million to develop Vivendi and would like to break ground by the end of the year, Gorman said. The first residents would be moving in by fall 2012.

Kim Chafin, senior city planner, said Modus Development is requesting approval of new elevations and landscaping, and if it receives approval from the Development Review Board, building permits will be all that are needed to begin construction.

The new proposal includes five separate buildings, instead of one larger one, Gorman said. Also, the units are smaller, there is more community space and a new recycling center for residents, he said.

"More focus has been given to providing residents with views of the greenbelt from the individual apartments and from the community area," he said.

The complex will now be apartments instead of condominiums, Gorman said.

"So many people have been displaced from their homes and condos since the market crash and the recession began," he said. "There is a huge market of people that want to have quality housing that is sustainable and located within the city, but they can't afford the high prices of previous condo projects."

Many people are choosing to rent and have become renters out of necessity, Gorman said.

"There is projected to be a shortage of quality apartments in the area over the next several years," he said. "This project addresses the needs of the community by providing an extremely high-quality alternative to condos with many of the amenities that they would expect, including pool, spa, workout area and lounge area."

Apartment development is becoming more popular in downtown and south Scottsdale because financing is available for it, Chafin said.

"That's really what's triggering a lot of things," she said.

Although some nearby residents expressed concerns about the proposal in 2007, most residents supported it, Gorman said.

"We spent a great deal of time working with the neighbors last time and this time to make sure that the project is something that fits the neighborhood and addresses their concerns," he said.

The project will be designed and built to use little energy. Modus Development's the Galleries at Turney, a condo project at 27th Street and Turney Avenue in Phoenix, was the first LEED-H certified residential project in Arizona and the first LEED-H multifamily project in the United States.

LEED for Homes is a rating system that promotes the design and construction of high-performance green homes. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is designated by the U.S. Green Building Council to projects that meet certain criteria.